Yugioh: The Apprentice
by Sdrive
Summary: What if you could have it all? Sixteen contestants are pitted against each other for the chance of a lifetime: to be accepted for a job at Kaiba Corp. It's nothing personal: It's just business.


PW: Ah yes, another reality TV show gets totally deformed by a rabid fanfic author. Oh well, let's get to it!

(P.S.: I don't own ANYTHING besides the clothes on my back, and not even that since my dad bought me the shirt I'm wearing.)

A/N: Confessionals (the time where a character admits his/her true feelings alone) will have a warning before them, so, hopefully, you won't get confused. Also, sorry if some characters are OOC, but remember: they are playing for money, and Kaiba is under contract.

Yu-Gi-OH: The Apprentice

Boosting Your Chances

DAY 1: February 15, 2005, 6:30 PM.

The passenger airplane carrying all of the contestants (and no one else besides the essentials) roared over the city of Domino. They were the new applicants for an open job position in the largest company in Japan: Kaiba Corp.

Everyone knew that a job at Kaiba corp would set them for life: not only would the lucky applicant have a job that surpassed anything they've ever done, but the pay was guaranteed to be at least six figures a year! However, they knew that getting said job wasn't going to be easy: they would have the harshest judge they could ever dread, Seto Kaiba.

The cameraman moved from one contestant to the next. Each one was in their best suit or dress (some a little more vibrant than others). Each one had different thoughts about the competition as well.

Tea looked out the window tirelessly.

"Wow, this is so wild. I can't believe I was chosen as one of the contestants to compete for a job at Kaiba Corp. At the same time, I guess I'm also a little scared. Being judged by Kaiba, I mean, I don't know if I can even _look_ at the guy eye to eye. I just hope I don't make a fool of myself."

Ryou sat, twiddling his thumbs.

"A job at Kaiba Corp., an opportunity of a lifetime! However, to get it, I have to prove myself better than 15 other applicants. And to do that, I have to think like a businessman. I hope I do well."

Mai was aimlessly filing her nails.

"Well, I must say, this is the most interesting job interview _I've_ ever done. I'm looking forward to crush all of the saps under my feet, and take the ultimate prize. Look out everybody, 'cause Mai Valentine is going to rule the competition."

Weevil was cleaning his glasses to the best of his ability.

"This task is the biggest thing since Battle City. Oh, to get that kind of a job and to earn all of that money! But, I mustn't get ahead of myself. First, I have to squish everyone out of the competition, and then, I can start applying my buggy tactics to Seto Kaiba!"

Joey yawned as he stretched out his arms.

"Workin' for Kaiba is the last thing I want, but right now, I don't have much of a choice. I reeeeeaaaally need the money to take care of my sister, and myself come to think of it. The three million dollars I won went towards my sister's operation, and there wasn't much left after it. Bottom line is, I gotta get this job."

Duke tossed a pair of dice into the air, and deftly caught it with his other hand.

"Man, if I were to work for Seto Kaiba, there's no telling what I could do from there. I have a lot of experience with business dealings, seeing as how I have my own game on the market. Most of my competitors have no experience in this field, so I have an advantage."

Bandit Keith put his seat as far back as it could go, and ran a hand through his oiled-down hair. He rested his boots on the seat in front of him.

"These losers don't have a prayer of getting that job for Kaiba Corp. In fact, I'm the only one worthy enough to be on this plane! Look at these geeks: idiots, children, and weirdoes. They have no chance: I'm taking that job."

Marik was trying to get his head focused by meditating.

"Serving Kaiba seems like a ridiculous plan, however it may be in my best interests to get the position I want. I've managed thieves, crooks, and heartless people. I don't see anything different with what I'm about to do."

Rex pressed his face to the window, trying to spot the Kaiba Corp. building.

"This opportunity is bigger than the Triassic period! If I were to get a job at Kaiba Corp., I would put dinosaurs on the map again!"

Bakura smirked under his white hair.

"These fools have no idea what they're up against! I am the most powerful person on this plane (pun intended). If I wanted the job at Kaiba Corp., it would be mine just like that!"

Rebecca laughed giddily as she looked out the window.

"Wow, a job at Kaiba Corp.! It's everything a nine-year old could ever dream of. And it won't be any problem too: no one can beat my genius brain!"

Malik was surprisingly silent. He was thinking about the best way to get the job.

"I'm a leader, not a follower. I will lead myself to victory! I don't care how many people I go through, I will get that job so I can rule the corporate world!"

Tristan fiddled with the buttons on his suit nervously.

"I like a good job as much as the next normal person, but seriously, working for Kaiba? I mean, how do I know that if I win, he won't fire me on the spot? I guess it's worth it though: gosh knows I won't get another opportunity like this!"

Mako sat patiently in his seat, lost in thought.

"If I win the job, I can use the money to find my father. I know he's still out there, and I won't give up until I find him. As for my opponents, well, they're minnows compared to me!"

Espa had a Ouija board, and was trying to spell out messages from beyond.

"I see me, winning the job for Kaiba Corps. My enemies will pose little threat to me. Their futile attempts at victory will be swept away by my powers!"

Odion held a blank, expressionless look on his face, which drew no concern.

"My plan is to stay out of the way of the bickering, and let my opponents destroy themselves. I will then take out the survivors personally. I will win this job."

Minutes later, the plane landed on the airstrip. When the engine winded down, the contestants stepped out of the plane dragging their suitcases. In front of them was a black super stretch limo, and in front of the limo was its apparent owner:

Seto Kaiba himself, dressed in his purple overcoat, a blank look on his face that could bore through steel. He analyzed each of the contestants, perhaps trying to search out a favorite. When he found none, he thought to himself "Oh well, the correct applicant will show him or herself eventually."

Aloud, he announced to the sixteen nervous faces "Welcome. I hope you are ready, because the time for seriousness has begun. You will embark on a journey like no other. It is more grueling than a crusade, yet you will probably travel only within this city. It is more brutal than the civil war, yet there is no bloodshed. The battlefield is scarred with the fallen, yet there are no marks."

Smiling at his own wit, he continued "For the next 16 weeks of your job interview, all of you will be tested mentally, and probably physically. Every week, I will fire one of you until I choose the apprentice. That lucky applicant will sign a one-year contract for a six figure salary, and be in charge of one of two major projects. Right now however, there are sixteen of you. Let's get down to business."

He opened the limo, and pulled out a box. "Inside this box are balls, half of them red, half of them blue. One by one, you will pick a ball, and be sorted into your teams: Red is Team XYZ, blue is Team Blue-Eyes. Once you are sorted, you will take this limo to your hotel, and consult with your team. Get to know one another really well, because knowing your team is the first step towards success."

"Each week, you will be presented different tasks, ranging from architecture, to entrepreneurs, to design, even building a profit from scratch. The team that performs the task better than the opposing team will reap glorious rewards, and the project manager of the winning team will gain immunity for the following week. The losing team however, will be summoned to the board room. The project manager will bring two members of his team along with himself into the board room for me to decide which one I will fire. Remember: you cannot choose the same project manager in consecutive weeks, so choose wisely."

"Now then, Tea Gardner, step forward."

Tea nervously stuck a hand into the box, and pulled out a red ball the size of a tennis ball. Kaiba instructed her to stand to the left. "Team XYZ to the left, Team Blue-Eyes to the right."

Next was Mai. She walked over to the box, and pulled out another red ball. She went to stand by Tea, and put an arm around her shoulder, saying "Well, it looks like we're working together again, huh Tea?"

"Yeah, it looks like it." replied Tea a little less enthusiastically.

Joey was next, and he tried to distance himself as far away as possible from Kaiba as he chose his color, which was also red.

The first member of Team Blue-Eyes was Bakura, who smirked when he withdrew the blue ball. "Perfect; I won't have to work with the main fools."

Bandit Keith smugly walked forward to the box. However, the feeling wore off when he discovered from the red ball that he would have to work with the 'main fools'.

Next up was Weevil, who laughed his annoying bug laugh when he pulled out a blue ball, joining Team Blue-Eyes.

Malik wasted no time when his name was called; he strode up to the box, and pulled out his colored ball. When it was revealed as blue, he distanced himself from Bakura, hate apparent in their eyes.

Tristan hesitantly walked to the foreboding box, and reached inside. When he pulled out another blue ball, he looked towards Team XYZ, and asked "Anyone wanna trade?"

Mako was next to pick a team, and he pulled out a red ball. He gave a hearty laugh, and said "I got the team I wanted!"

This made Tristan respond sarcastically "Thanks, pal,"

Duke reached in muttering "It's all in the luck of the draw." He pulled out a blue ball, and joined Team Blue-Eyes muttering "And I had none there."

Rebecca ran towards the box, and reached in to pull out a ball. Like most of the contestants, she lost all of her spunk when she pulled out a blue ball.

"Aww, come on! Blue-Eyes isn't _that _bad, is it?" wondered Kaiba.

Odion walked expressionlessly to the box, and pulled out a blue ball. He then walked to Team Blue-Eyes where he stood to the side, still not saying a word.

Rex reached into the box, and pulled out a red ball. Smirking, he joined Team XYZ on the left.

Marik was next to be sorted. He calmly reached in, indifference clearly marking his face. It was no different when he pulled out a red ball.

Espa Roba emitted an eerie hum, gaining stares from everyone else, and finally said "I see myself being sorted into Team Blue-Eyes!" He then dramatically reached in, and pulled out a blue ball.

Joey muttered "I should hope so: that was the last ball in the box!"

Kaiba then said "Alright: TeamXYZ, Team Blue-Eyes, I hope you're happy with your team, because you will also be sharing a suite with each other. Now let's go to the building." With that, they all got inside the limo, with Seto Kaiba riding shotgun, and the other contestants cramming into the spacious car.

An hour later, they all arrived at the Kaiba Corp. main building. Scanning the lobby with widened eyes (well, most of them), they went through the gold plated revolving doors, and rode the elevators all the way up to the top level.

There where two grand suites on the fiftieth floor, each one obviously for the two different teams. They were opposite from each other, however the entrances were facing outward, so the teams could converse in privacy. Kaiba turned to the two teams at the front of the elevators, and said "Get some rest, and be ready, because tomorrow, your first task will be introduced to you."

The two teams walked dragging their luggage to their respective rooms. Tea, who was in front for Team XYZ, opened the double doors, and gasped.

The master living room was a sight to behold. Three red, luxurious sofas circled a roaring brick-red fireplace, which the team was very thankful for, seeing as how it was the middle of February. To the left, there was an island with an electric stove, a fridge, a microwave and a dishwasher; all of them cream white to match the soft carpet, gleaming paint, and shiny tile. To the right, there was a desk, and a 32" plasma screen TV with a glass and mahogany coffee table sitting in front of it.

At the four corners of the main room, there were bedrooms, two of them out fitted with two beds (the two in the back were master bedrooms, each with a king-sized mattress). There were bathrooms and showers in each one.

Mai looked around and smiled in disbelief. "Wow! This is what I call living big." Joey gave a big whoop, and jumped over the sofa to land sprawled-eagled on the cushions. Bandit Keith rolled his bag into the nearest bedroom, and laid on the bed, not bothering to take off his boots. Following suit, each member of the team showed their appreciation for the large suite.

Meanwhile, in Team Blue-Eyes' room, Rebecca ran into the smaller bedrooms, and flopped down on the bed. "Wow, it's soooooo soft!"

Tristan opened the fridge and found that it was already packed with sodas, cheese, milk, meats, and other foods. Bakura walked to the desk, and nodded satisfactorily, sitting on the leather rotating office chair. Espa turned on the TV to the news, which was presenting the current stocks for Kaiba Corp.

Duke then clapped his hands in a 'manner of fact'ly way, and said "Well, I think now's the time to get to know everyone."

However, by the time he'd said this, Malik had already locked himself in the other small bedroom along with Odion. Weevil had already claimed one of the master bedrooms. As soon as Duke had said it, Espa suddenly hummed and said "I see myself going to bed", and went into the room Rebecca was in. Bakura had deftly claimed the other master bedroom.

Duke looked around exasperatedly, and turned to Tristan. "Well, I already know you,"

But his words went ignored: Tristan was already asleep on the sofa.

Team Blue-Eyes: Duke's Confessional: "I have almost no faith in this team. No one wants to work together, not as far as I can tell. Bakura, Malik, Weevil, Odion, they're all closed books. Tristan is probably going to be lazy, and Rebecca is probably too young. Don't even get me started about Espa. Something really screwy has to happen tomorrow to make us win."

Team XYZ:

Every member of Team XYZ (including Bandit Keith, who had to be 'persuaded' by Mai) sat on the sofas facing each other. Mai announced to the group "All right team, listen up! If we're going to win tomorrow, we got to find out our strengths and use them, our weaknesses to turn into strengths to use them, our likes, dislikes, whatever."

Joey raised a hand. "One question before we begin: How the heck did Kaiba agree to let Yugi be one of the consultants for this competition?"

It was Ryou who answered: "I believe I heard that Kaiba needed a second consultant, and Yugi was the only one who wouldn't try and botch up his company. provided that neither makes any snide comments or attempts on each other's life. I believe a strict contract was involved."

"Well, I think we should start off talking strategy," said Tea, "I mean, the first task could literally be anything."

Mako piped up, saying "I hope it's to manage an aquarium."

That earned a laugh from Bandit Keith. "Dream on! Do you really think they'd let us do something like that? Ridiculous!"

"Oh, and you have a better idea of what's coming, chumpasaurus?" retorted Rex.

"Can it, dino-breath!"

"All right, that's enough. We aren't going to sleep until we can act like a team." said Mai, putting her foot down.

Team XYZ: Tea's Confessional: "I have a lot of faith in this team, and I'm especially proud of Mai. She's all business, and she has the heart of a leader. As soon as we arrived, she was like "All right guys, let's work, now!" We're going to be ready for war tomorrow. Team Blue-Eyes is going down."

DAY 2: 6:00 AM.

Team Blue-Eyes: Espa's Confessional: "I have no idea what we're in for. Not even my psychic powers can tell me what the first task is. I guess we'll find out soon."

Team XYZ: Bandit Keith's Confessional: "As much as I hate to admit, my team actually looks decent, however, I can't say the same for Mai. She thinks she's all that, what with taking charge and all, and she's irritable, and everyone likes her just because she could pose for a magazine. They don't know that she's just using them as pawns, just like me: I know I can definitely ride with this team all the way to the grand prize."

Everyone was gathered in the main foyer. Everybody was still drowsy. Everyone was wearing their best suits for today. And everyone was standing in front of Mr. Kaiba.

Kaiba had two suitcases. The black boxes sat on either side of him. "Team XYZ, Team Blue-Eyes, how'd you sleep?"

There were distinguished replies of nods and "good" and "awesome".

Kaiba's Confessional: "Looking at the two teams, I can tell that Team XYZ has spent the night getting to know each other. Team Blue-Eyes looks like they can't stand one another. If I bet money on who would win this first task, it would be Team XYZ. They are ready to win."

Kaiba continued: "As you know, every good businessman has to start somewhere. I like to relate my business strategies to duel monsters. For example: for a duelist to start dueling, he must obtain better cards. And the only to do that is through booster packs."

The contestants smiled, having a pretty good idea of what they would be doing.

"Your first task is inside of these suitcases. Inside the suitcases are 1000 booster packs. Each booster pack is worth 2.00 at retail. You will each be given two vans. Your task is to go into the streets of Domino, and sell these booster packs for a profit. You will decide on where to sell them, and how much you will sell them for. The team that imports the most profit wins a reward and the project manager will gain immunity for the next week. The team that loses gets to go to the boardroom. You will begin selling at 8:00, and keep selling as many as you can until 10:00 PM. tonight. Use your two hours to strategize."

Kaiba then picked up the two suitcases. "Team XYZ, choose your project manager."

It wasn't a hard decision as Mai stepped forward and took one of the suitcases.

Team XYZ: Bandit Keith's Confessional: "And of course, without considering me to be leader, the team 'chooses' Mai. Heh, more like she chooses herself. I mean, I know what's going to happen: they're all going to suck up to her in the hopes that they won't be chosen to accompany her into the boardroom if we lose. Well, not me. I won't follow that bullsh(bleep) act for one second."

"Team Blue-Eyes, choose your project manager."

The team huddled together, and finally Bakura stepped from the group, and took the other suitcase.

Team Blue-Eyes: Odion's Confessional: "We choose Bakura because we figured he was the most determined to win, plus we know that if we lose, which is likely, Kaiba is going to come right down on him instead of us."

"Right, I'll leave you to your task." said Kaiba, turning to walk out of the hotel.

The two teams went back into their rooms with their booster packs, already thinking about the best way to handle the job.

Team XYZ:

Mai had already gotten out the phone book, and turned the page to the map of the city. "Alright, from what I can see, the best places are going to be near fast-food restaurants and card shops."

Ryou pointed to the map and said "It looks like the only card shops are the one in Domino Plaza, and the one on Bone Street."

Marik also pointed out "There are several restaurants in Domino Plaza as well."

Getting out a pen and a piece of paper, Mai did some quick math. "Okay, so we split the packs into piles of 125 each, and if we sell all of them at a high enough price, we could get a profit of at least 800. Now, does anyone have a price suggestion?"

Rex replied "How about 3 bucks a pack? That seems like a fair price."

Bandit Keith however made one slight change to that price offer. "We should sell them at 2.99. You never see a nice figure like that. You always see 1.99, or 3.99, and it always seems much lower than what you're actually paying. 3 bucks could scare them off, see? You gotta play tricks with them."

Team XYZ: Mai's Confessional: "Our strategy was to sell the booster packs at 2.99 because, as Bandit Keith pointed out, it sounds much lower than 3.00. This way, we pretty much get one dollar for every pack we sell. I am very confident in this team. I think we are all determined to win."

Team XYZ: Bandit Keith's Confessional: "Yeah, I helped out a bit. Hey, a reward is first priority for me any day and it beats the trip to the boardroom. However, I still don't appreciate the fact that Mai is the stuck-up leader."

Team Blue-Eyes:

Bakura stretched his clasped fingers, and said "All right mortals, let's begin. What's our price?"

Shifting her specs, Rebecca offered "We should offer these packs for 2.75. It seems much lower than the 3.99 per pack that the card shops are selling at. Also something to keep in mind: every booster pack that's not sold will cost us 2.00 anyway, so we want to get rid of these as fast as we can."

"Hmm, all right, 2.75 it is then. Now, how are we going to sell these?"

Weevil cut in this time, saying "We could stand around waiting for customers,"

Duke raised his hand, and said "I used to have a summer job as an ice cream truck driver two years ago,"

Espa suddenly laughed. "You? An ice cream man?"

"Okay, so it's not one of my finer points in life, but just hear me out: We could drive slowly in the van, and yell out to customers. We could also drive to groups of people and see if they're interested in buying packs."

Malik stroked his chin. "Hmm, the idea sounds promising. I say we do it!"

Tristan then said "So, we have 14 hours to sell these, minus an hour or so each from lunch and dinner, means we have 12 hours total."

Bakura immediately said "Screw lunch and dinner! We're going the full 14 hours!"

There was much protesting to this:

"What? What do you think we are? Machines?"

"No way am _I _going 14 hours without food!"

"We're going to starve! No way can a girl take that!"

"Silence fools! Do you want to win, or do you want to waste time with trivial items? Now come on! Let's go, our time is almost up!"

Team Blue-Eyes: Rebecca's Confessional: "I don't like Bakura: he's a big meanie. I don't think there's any need for taking away our lunch and dinner. Duke's plan and my price combined will sell all of our packs before sunset!"

It was now 8:00, and both teams rushed with their booster packs to their silver vans.

Team XYZ:

"This is nice." commented Joey as he sniffed the new car smell and felt the leather of the seat.

"I'm driving." said Mai, claiming the driver's seat. Joey was riding shotgun, Tea and Rex were in the back.

Bandit Keith got into the driver's seat of the other van, along with Ryou riding shotgun, and Mako and Marik in the back. "Wow, I wonder how fast I can go in this baby!" marveled Bandit Keith in ecstasy.

"Let's not find out." waved Ryou in protest.

Team XYZ: Ryou's Confessional: "Our plan was pretty straight forward. Joey and Mai would go to the Domino plaza, Rex would take the suburbs, Bandit Keith and I would take the card shop on Bone Street, Mako and Marik will be dropped off at a fast food restaurant, and Tea would walk around the streets. This way, we have all of the possibilities covered."

Team Blue-Eyes:

Bakura, Tristan, Rebecca, and Espa went into one van with Bakura at the wheel, and Malik drove the other van with Weevil, Duke, and Odion in tow.

Team Blue-Eyes: Weevil's Confessional: "And so our plan, fittingly dubbed 'Ice Cream Man', begun. We were to drive around the city, stopping at anyone who wanted a booster pack."

Bakura drove west, while Malik drove in the opposite direction, their windows painfully open. Luckily, it wasn't that cold today; it was about 63 degrees.

Kaiba's Confessional: "I thought I picked a task that was simple, yet challenging at the same time. To sell all of their packs, they had to sell at an average of more than a pack a minute, and that's without any breaks for the day. Both teams thought strategically, and formulated a plan. Now it's all a matter of who took the better approach."

8:30 PM.:

Mai stopped at Domino Plaza with Joey, and both of them got out ready to start selling. They stepped into the large tiled area filled with outlets, stores, a food court, and countless potential customers.

Team XYZ: Joey's Confessional: "We had ta make up for lost time. We already spent half an hour dropping everyone off. If we wanna sell all of our packs, we have ta start selling fast."

Joey immediately got a customer, selling three packs. Her friend also wanted a booster pack, and Joey kindly obliged.

Team XYZ: Mai's confessional: "Since we're split up into groups, we have a little leeway time-wise. Instead of selling in a group, we are selling in a wide area. I think my plan is very efficient, and will totally kick the other team's ass.

Pointing to the left, she yelled to Joey "Joey, you take the south side, I'll take the north."

"Right!" replied Joey as he ran off into the crowd.

Meanwhile, Tea was walking aimlessly on the streets, stopping anyone who looked interested in buying packs.

"Excuse me please?" she said, stopping a group of teenagers, "Would you be interested in booster packs?"

"Sure, how much?" replied a guy in a scruffy jacket and red hat.

"2.99."

"Wow, that's cheap." commented his friend who immediately got out his wallet.

"I'll take five." said the first guy.

"14.95, please."

"I'll take three." said his friend.

"Wait, I want a couple too!"

Mokuba looked on from a distance, and nodded satisfactorily. He then jumped onto his bike, and rode off.

Team Blue-Eyes:

"Booster Packs, get your cheap booster packs here! Only 2.75! You heard me: 2.75! You won't find a place that sells any of these packs for such a low price!"

Duke was given the undignified task of yelling an advertisement to the stunned crowd. The van drove at a mere 3 miles an hour, and Malik was pained from the fact that he couldn't go any faster.

A little kid of about 8 ran up to the van, saying "I want one, I want one!"

Duke smiled, and opened the van door, giving him a booster pack, and taking the 2.75. Laughing giddily, the kid rushed back to his mother. "This definitely brings me back." said Duke.

"Oh, save it! We only sold three packs so far!" growled Marik.

Weevil pipped up in disgust "And to think I used to act like that kid when I was six!"

Meanwhile, Bakura and his group were having a field day. They had stopped at a big group of duelists playing in an alley, and they managed to sell 37 packs.

"Nice doing business with ya!" yelled Tristan as the van drove off.

Team Blue-Eyes: Tristan's Confessional:

"This task turned out to be more fun than I thought. It felt good driving around and selling packs. Of course, I never got to drive, but hey: ya can't have everything."

12:00 noon:

Malik drove near the suburbs while Duke kept on shouting "Booster packs for 2.75!" A group of ten kids ran up to the slow van, each waving bills. Odion tossed a couple of packs to Duke for him to sell. Weevil tried to calculate how many boosters they had sold, but failed miserably: the number kept changing.

Bakura's group however had a good idea of where they were.

"Let's see, if we sold that many boosters, times the set price, minus 2 times our packs, we've made 76, and if Malik and the others are doing just as well, we've made 162 dollars." finished Rebecca as she showed the figures to Bakura.

"Oooh, very good simulation little girl, now don't bother me; I'm driving."

"Uh, Bakura? That's really how much we've sold."

"What? Is that so? Well then," He stomped his foot on the pedal, and sped down the street looking for groups of people, sending the case of boosters right at Espa.

'Selling Out'

Kaiba's Confessional: "Team XYZ has taken a break for lunch, leaving Team Blue-Eyes to sell off on their own. Normally, I'd lament people for taking a break, but Mai's plan had effectively shortened the task; they have already sold a third of their stock. Team Blue-Eyes however is still going, and I like what they're doing: they may not realize it, but because of their lower price, Team XYZ may have trouble finding more customers after their break. When you sell something, you don't simply sell the product, you also 'buy' the customer. If you buy enough customers, you can lock out your opponents."

2:30 PM: Team XYZ:

Rex was in trouble.

He had only sold 20 booster packs out of his 125 stock. He knew very well that each booster left over would cost his team 2 bucks each. It would be a crushing blow that would guarantee defeat.

It didn't help that people started to refuse Rex's offers at selling them.

"How do I know if I can trust you? Why are you selling them so low? Are they fake?"

"I just bought some from a van that only charged me 2.75 per. You might wanna lower that price."

"I'm sorry, I don't need boosters right now, and besides, I'm broke!"

He was getting very desperate.

Team XYZ: Rex's Confessional: "I had pretty much no choice but to lower the price to 2.50. I was running out of time, and a .50 profit is better than a loss of two bucks."

He spotted two teenage men laughing as they flipped through several cards. "Excuse me," he said to the two as they turned to look down on him, "could I interest you in booster packs? Only 2.50!"

"Hmm, I don't know man, I don't have that much money left."

"How much _do_ you have left?"

"4 bucks. Do you think I could get two?"

Well, beggars can't be choosers. "Sure, whatever, here you go!" said Rex as he sold the packs for the zero net profit. Yugi watched from across the street, and jumped back in the car driven by Kaiba's chauffeur to check on the other contestants.

Yugi's Confessional: "Rex is in trouble. He hasn't sold that many packs, and he's forced to lower his price. This could severely hurt him as people know that they can now take advantage of him."

Meanwhile, Ryou and Bandit Keith had just finished lunch at a nearby restaurant where they managed to sell another two packs, and had gone back to the card players inside the shop.

"Sure man, I'll take three."

"That's 8.97."

"I want two please."

"5.98."

However, they had only sold a quarter of their stock. The duelists inside were hungry for new cards: It's just that there weren't very many duelists.

"Man, we couldn't have been assigned to a worse location!" said Bandit Keith, looking endlessly for another deal.

"I know. Mai sure came up with a good plan though." answered Ryou.

"No, it's not Mai that's doing this, right? We're here, she's not. We're selling our butts off, while she gives herself the easy location." retorted Bandit Keith.

"That's not true: Mai is really a won-"

"Oh, shut up! You know that from day one all I've seen is people sucking up to her? It's really pathetic! You know eventually you have to go against her, why not just cut to the chase and do it now?"

Ryou stood in shock at this sudden outburst along with about five other people. "You know what? If you don't like Mai, tough, because she is our project manager for this task whether you like it or not."

"Fine then! I'm going over here to find more customers, by myself!"

"Fine!"

Mokuba had witnessed the scene from within the crowd.

Mokuba's Confessional: "Bandit Keith has a very bad attitude towards the project manager, and really, I can't see what it's about. Whatever it is, he needs to realize is that he's hurting his team right now because of it."

4:00 PM:

Mako Tsunami had little success selling his packs along with Marik. Ever since lunch, they had trouble finding people willing to buy packs from them.

Team XYZ: Mako's Confessional: "No one wanted our packs. I mean, we already sold about 80 packs between the both of us, but now we couldn't get rid of them."

Team XYZ: Marik's Confessional: "No matter how bad it seemed, we can't lower our prices. If they didn't like the price we set, tough. We're just going to have to find another area."

Exasperated, Marik turned to Mako, and said "We should start walking somewhere else. We aren't getting anywhere by waiting for people."

Mako agreed. "Good idea. I still have about 90 packs. We'll meet back here." Wishing the other luck, they headed off in opposite directions.

5:37 PM: Team Blue-Eyes:

Fatigue was starting to set in: Malik had stopped driving and Duke had taken over, his voice hoarse. Weevil was given the job of yelling instead, and Odion was given the task of handing out the packs.

Meanwhile, Bakura still kept his eyes open, but everyone in his van knew that he was beginning to get tired. Rebecca's stomach growled, and she finally said "I'm really hungry you guys."

However, Bakura just barked at her. "I already told you, we're not stopping!"

This time, Tristan turned to Bakura from selling two more packs. "Listen man, we're only human after all. Why don't we get something to eat?"

Bakura sighed. "I can't believe this, okay, fine. If we win, I'll personally provide a pizza party. How about that, mortal?"

Rebecca asked timidly "And if we lose?"

"Then tough cookie."

"Oooooooohhh," groaned Rebecca. They had to win now.

7:25 PM: Team XYZ:

Mai and Joey were enjoying a sweet fruit frappe inside the ice cream shop (not with the profit money of course). They had already sold out their stock, and wondering where the others were.

"Now, we sold all of our packs," said Mai, stirring a spoon into her dessert, "so that means we have 250 there,"

"But we lose 2 bucks for every pack we don't sell." finished Joey.

"Exactly, so what I was thinking is we go and pick up anyone who still has boosters to sell, and bring them here, because there are still a lot of teenagers wandering around."

Joey thought for a moment, and said "Okay, let's go!"

"Right after I finish this."

8:03 PM: Team Blue-Eyes:

Bakura shook his head when Rebecca told him the numbers.

"At the current rate we're going, selling approximately one pack every two minutes from now, we would be left over with 52 packs at the end of the day. Assuming that Malik and the others are selling at the same pace, we would end up with around 568."

"That's assuming that not only are Malik and the others are selling at the same rate, but also that we're selling consistently until ten." added Tristan.

"I know mortal! I know." sighed Bakura.

Espa hummed a weird hum, and said "I see a great victory ahead."

"Great, more bad news," Tristan muttered.

8:34 PM: Team XYZ:

Team XYZ: Tea's Confessional: "It was freakin' cold out there. I'm lucky that I'd managed to sell all of my packs, but now I was waiting for transportation to pick up everyone. All I could do was hope that Mai had the same idea."

She didn't have to wait long: Mai and Joey decided to look for Tea first, and picked her up easily.

"Hey hon, how's it going?" asked Mai when Tea climbed into the back seat.

"Brrrr, sooooooo, c-c-c-cooooold!" was the reply.

"I know what you mean hon, let me turn up the heat for you."

Meanwhile, Rex had stayed in the same area trying in vain to sell his packs. He was now selling them for 1.50 because everyone wouldn't take them for anything else. About half of his stash was gone, but mostly due to his lowered price.

Team XYZ: Rex's Confessional: "Man, this sucks. How can I sell these packs if no one wants them? If we lose, I have a bone to pick with Mai!"

Team Blue-Eyes:

"Ok guys, this is it," said Duke, "we have to sell these packs now."

Malik's van still had about 100 packs, but Malik was determined not to turn them into 2.00 blows to their total profit.

Noticing something, Weevil looked out the window from the back seat, and said ecstatically "Look guys, we're near the plaza!"

Team Blue-Eyes: Weevil's Confessional: "Finally, a break! This will definitely help our team, provided that duelists still hang around the plaza at this time of night."

Weevil didn't have to worry about a thing as there were many teenage shoppers still left.

Bakura's group however was not so lucky. It was getting harder now to sell the packs as fewer and fewer customers showed up on the streets.

Rebecca fearfully gave him the numbers. "So, if the rate of selling is changing by that, and we keep selling that, we end up with 315.5, assuming that both of our groups are selling at the same rate as us."

"RRRRRAAAAAAAA!" yelled Bakura in frustration as he pounded his hands on the dashboard. No one wanted to get in his way, so Tristan just went back to selling along with Rebecca.

9:30 PM: Team XYZ:

Bandit Keith and Ryou were pretty much done for the day: they had to pick up Mako and Marik, and they couldn't sell another pack. Sighing, Ryou counted the number of packs left over. The number came to 47, which meant that 94 would be knocked off from their total.

They did do the best they could, but Ryou still had some qualms about Bandit Keith.

Team XYZ: Ryou's Confessional: I really detested Keith's attitude towards Mai. He was angry with her over nothing, and he was really immature, and I think it cost us some packs. We had decided to split up for about, what, 4 to 5 hours because honestly I couldn't stand the fellow."

Mai had her jaw literally drop when she came upon Rex: He had only 133.15, and 63 booster packs, which meant that his profit was pretty much nothing for the day.

"How could this happen Rex?" asked a stunned Mai.

Rex couldn't say much: "My location was bad, I don't know. No one would buy them at the regular price, so I had to tone it down a little."

"_A little? _What the hell were you selling them for?"

Team XYZ: Joey's Confessional: "When Rex told Mai that he had lowered da price, Mai got all pissed at him, and quite frankly I was too: There should've been absolutely no reason why Rex couldn't have just moved ta another location ta sell these packs. We knew that this would probably cost the team, big time."

Marik and Mako barely managed to sell all of their packs except 27. When they got in the van however, they were shocked to see that Ryou and Bandit Keith still had about 50 packs left over.

"What happened?" asked Marik when he got in the van.

Counting the money, Ryou shook his head, and said "Bandit Keith had some issues with Mai."

"Oh, so it's _my _fault?" replied an aggravated Bandit Keith from the driver's seat.

"Come on, let's just get back to Kaiba Corp." said Mako, trying to calm Keith down.

Team XYZ: Mako's Confessional: "I think Bandit Keith deserves to be fired: He has an attitude like a bull shark, and the mindset of a jellyfish. If he's this much of an endangerment to the team, then it's better if we didn't have him in our tank.

9:58 PM: Team Blue-Eyes:

Both vans met at the imposing Kaiba Corp. building, counting the number of packs they still had, or at least, Bakura and his group were; Malik and his group had managed to sell the rest of their packs in the plaza.

Jotting down all of the numbers, Rebecca finally said "We have 76 packs left over, and let's see, 1000 minus 76 is 924, times .75, minus 2.00 for 76 packs, gives us a grand total of 541."

Duke asked a nervous Bakura "So, do you think it's enough?"

Trying to look tough, he replied "Of course, it has to be!"

Team Blue-Eyes: Bakura's Confessional: "I want to win this task more than anyone here because I know that if we lose, I don't have a real scapegoat to place in front of me. Kaiba is going to go right after the failed project manager, and that could very well be me if the other team managed to come up with a better plan than a former ice cream truck driver."

Minutes later, Mai and Bandit Keith along with their crew carried in the extra booster packs and two plastic bags filled with money. Whether it was enough, no one knew. They would have to wait until the money was counted.

Team XYZ: Mai's Confessional: "I was very disappointed in Rex and Bandit Keith. Rex made a stupid decision to lower the price, and Bandit Keith had a very bad attitude. If we lose, I'm picking the two of them to join me in the boardroom, no question."

10:30 PM

The two teams were to go to the boardroom to learn which team made the most profit. The tension was mounting: Bakura and Mai were anxious to hear which team brought in the most profit, and more importantly, which one of them would get immunity.

The gold clock ticked away as the sixteen applicants waited in front of the entrance to the revered boardroom.

"Sheryl, bring them in." buzzed Seto Kaiba's voice from the front desk intercom.

Sheryl looked at the applicants and said sweetly "Mr. Kaiba is ready to see you."

The boardroom itself was a dark brown with a view screen at the left side of the room, a long wooden business table with eight wooden antique cream-seated chairs in the front and three in the back,

First, Team XYZ: Mai, Joey, Tea, Marik, Bandit Keith, Ryou, Rex, and finally, Mako, each member with an emotionless face. Mai felt pretty confident: even if she did lose, she had a scapegoat. Shortly following them was Team Blue-Eyes: Bakura, Malik, Weevil, Duke, Tristan, Rebecca, Espa, and finally, Odion. Bakura didn't know if his 541 profit was good enough, and frankly, he didn't know what he would do to prevent himself from getting fired if it wasn't.

Mai, Rex, Ryou, and Bandit Keith sat in the four chairs on the right side of the table while Marik, Tea, Joey, and Mako stood behind them. Following suit, Bakura, Malik, Duke, and Rebecca sat in the other four chairs on the left, and Espa, Odion, Tristan, and Weevil stood behind them.

Yugi and Mokuba were already sitting on the opposite side of the table in two of the chairs, leaving the middle one vacant.

The door in the back opened, and Mr. Kaiba closed it behind him to sit in the middle chair. "Alright, how did the teams do?"

Mokuba read the piece of paper in front of him, and said "Well, Team Blue-Eyes did relatively well; they sold most of their booster packs in a very innovative way by using an ice cream truck idea. They managed to make 541."

Yugi read from his paper, and said "Team XYZ came up with a very efficient plan: they decided to split up and sell the packs individually. The problem was however that the leader cannot respond to major problems in this way, and that's what hurt the team the most in this plan of attack. They made 527.17."

Bakura was speechless: they had actually won!

"Yes!" cheered Team Blue-Eyes as they practically jumped for joy.

Kaiba nodded, and said to Team Blue-Eyes "Alright, congratulations Team Blue-Eyes. Because you won, your reward is this: You've made your profit, now you get to spend it. You will each be given 541 to use as you see fit."

"Alright! Pizza time!" shouted Tristan.

Kaiba then turned to the white-haired leader. "And Bakura?"

"Yes?"

"Since you were the project manager, if your team happens to lose tomorrow, you will be exempt from being fired in the boardroom."

"Thank Ra." Bakura sighed.

Kaiba then turned to a disappointed Team XYZ. "Team XYZ, tomorrow, I'll see you in my boardroom, where one of you will be fired. Now go back to your suites."

A jubilant Team Blue-Eyes made their way back into the suite where Bakura immediately ordered 3 large pizzas bottles of soda, and breadsticks. It was party time.

Day 3: 6:30 PM: Team XYZ:

Joey and Rex went into the smaller bedroom, and Joey got his things ready while Rex looked at the mirror.

"Hey man, I don't know what happened, but man, ya screwed up pretty badly." sighed Joey.

Team XYZ: Rex's Confessional: "Joey says I screwed up, but really, it was Mai: She gave me that location while she took the easy path herself. While I knew that Joey and Mai would have no problem, she probably knew I wouldn't be able to sell one pack in the suburbs."

Mai flopped down on her bed while Tea came out of the shower.

Mai shook her head. "How could we have lost?"

Tea shared her pain. "I don't know."

Team XYZ: Tea's Confessional: "I think Rex should take most of the credit for our failure. He lowered the price without letting the rest of us know, he sold the least amount of packs, he should be fired. That's it."

Meanwhile, Ryou was getting a soda from the fridge. Near the fireplace, Bandit Keith was digging into a bag of chips, lounging on the couch. Ryou sat next to him, and said "Alright, listen up Keith: Now, I'm not saying that you're the reason for our losing, but your attitude was completely appalling."

Keith began to retort. "What do you mean-"

"Now, just listen to me!" Ryou took a deep breath, and continued: "Ever since Mai was chosen as leader, you've been complaining. The team cannot sit with that kind of behavior. Just to let you know, I'll be trying to get you fired, period."

And with that, Ryou shut himself in the master bedroom to prepare his things.

7:00 PM:

The eight solemn members of Team XYZ, each one rolling their suitcases to the elevator, arrived at the entrance to the boardroom.

Leaving their suitcases in front of the elevators, they filed into the boardroom: Mai, Joey, Bandit Keith, Tea, Rex, Mako, Marik, and Ryou. Ryou pulled up a chair for Mai before sitting in one himself.

Facing them, Mokuba and Yugi were sitting in two of the chairs. Kaiba then opened the entrance on the other side, and sat in the middle. "So, what happened? You know, I thought you guys would win. You seemed ready to work. What happened?"

It was Mai who spoke first. "Mr. Kaiba, we had an effective plan, we split the task evenly, and we sold them at an effective price. I think it was a matter of participation, and who gave that one hundred and ten percent."

Kaiba half-asked "So, you don't think you should be fired?"

"Absolutely not. I think Rex did a horrible job selling the packs, and Keith had a negative attitude."

Rex suddenly said "Hey, you gave me that horrible location, and what did you assign yourself? The plaza; an area full of people coming to buy things."

"That's still no excuse for not selling packs." interrupted Tea, "I had to sell on the streets, you think that was easy?"

"I just think that-"

However, Yugi cut in. "Rex, you have to face facts: You weren't selling effectively, you made a terrible decision to lower the price of the packs, and did it ever occur to you that you could've just moved to another area?"

Rex hesitated for a split second. "I, that did occur to me, but I was assigned to-"

Kaiba then said "Rex."

"Yes?"

"Do you think Mai was a good leader?"

"I think she was a terrible leader. She gave herself the easy way out, and gave us all of the harder locations."

"Then why did you stay in the area she assigned you if you think she wasn't an effective leader?" asked Kaiba, eyes like lasers.

"Where else could I go?" Rex asked rhetorically.

Ryou spoke up, and true to his word, he targeted Keith. "Bandit Keith, I must feel, was also terrible. He kept complaining about Mai, and I feel that we could've sold more packs if he hadn't been arguing with me."

"Is this true?" asked Kaiba, looking down the table at Bandit Keith.

"It is true Mr. Kaiba," said Mako, "he was thoroughly frustrated with Mai for no reason."

Bandit Keith defended himself: "Mr. Kaiba, I was just as frustrated with Mai as Rex was. She made everyone suck up to her, and gave herself the easy location."

Mai interjected "Did you object when I assigned those locations? Did Rex? Not until the task was over you didn't!"

"Look missy,"

But Mokuba informed Bandit Keith "You know; having a bad attitude can really slow your team down. I mean, working with hard people is one of the things that a person has to deal with. If all you did is whine and complain, then there's really nothing Mai could've done about it."

Kaiba nodded, and said "Alright, Mai, choose the two people that will come back here with you."

Looking at the respective applicants, Mai said "I choose Keith and Rex."

Kaiba nodded. "Okay, everyone go back to the suite except for Mai, Keith, and Rex. Mokuba, Yugi, and I will discuss on who should be fired."

The eight applicants exited the boardroom, leaving Mokuba, Yugi, and Seto Kaiba.

"So Yugi, what do you think?" asked Kaiba.

Yugi shook his head. "I thought what Rex did was inexcusable. I mean, there was no reason to lower the price."

Kaiba nodded slightly in agreement. "Mokuba, how 'bout you?"

Thinking hard, Mokuba replied "I think Keith had an attitude that made it pretty difficult for anyone to work with. He shouldn't be given a chance if he won't give it to anyone else."

Kaiba took both of these views into consideration, and spoke into the intercom.

"Sheryl, bring them back."

"Go on in to see Mr. Kaiba." she said to the three nervous teens.

Mai sat in the center of the three, while Rex sat to her right and Keith to her left.

Kaiba looked at Mai, and said "Ok, who do you think should be fired, if you were in my shoes?"

Mai thought for a moment, and said "It would be Rex. He didn't live up to expectations, and even though Keith had a lousy attitude, he did contribute to the team."

"Well, so did I!" said Rex indignantly.

"But you didn't do as much."

Keith stepped in: "And what did you do missy? You only have the charisma; you don't have the ability to lead the team!"

Kaiba turned to Keith, and said "You really don't like Mai, don't you?"

"No, I don't sir."

"Do you think she should be fired instead of Rex?"

"Let me say this: We lost. What more proof do we need? The leader should bear responsibility."

Mai however, said "Yeah, we lost, but we share an equal portion of that loss because you two didn't sell as effectively as the others did."

"Well, why do you think that is? Because you're a horrible leader. You gave us difficult tasks without even-"

Kaiba however, stopped him: "Keith; there's only so much a leader can do before it lies in the hands of the people he's working with. This is one of those examples where the leader cannot be held accountable. Fortunately for you Keith, I'm not going after you, tonight."

Turning to Rex, he said "Rex, I don't know what drove you into disobeying your team leader and lowering the price, and frankly, I wouldn't want to hire someone who would disobey me."

"But, Mr. Kaiba, I already told you, my location was-"

"Was bad? Why didn't you move?"

"Well, where could I move to-"

"Well, according to you, anyplace was better than the one you were selling at. In my mind, you didn't make any effort to move, you just stuck to your location."

"Well, I wouldn't have needed to move if I got the same location as Mai,"

"But you still lowered the price without the consent of your team leader, and that ticked me off more than anything Rex. I mean, at least Keith did his job: you didn't."

"But Mr. Kaiba, she-"

"Rex, you're fired."

Rex froze in mid-sentence, knowing he couldn't redeem himself now. Gloom in his face, he stood up, and walked out of the boardroom. Mai and Keith followed him.

Without any breaks in their stride, Mai and Keith took their bags, and headed into the elevator to be taken back to the suite.

However, a lone elevator opened for Rex. Knowing his journey was over as quick as it began, he dragged his suitcase into the elevator.

_Rex took matters into his own hands. He made a lousy decision, and it cost his team. He's fired. Done._

Rex exited from the Kaiba Corp. building, still in shock by the previous events. The bellhop held the door open for him as he walked past, put his bag into the taxi, and stepped in. The cab drove away to bring him home.

Mai and Keith rolled their bags towards the suite, thankful that neither one of them was fired. Rex had taken the bullet instead of Keith. Week one was over. Mai opened the door, Keith followed her in, and the door closed.

That ends the first week. So, Rex Raptor fell victim to his bronto-sized mistake, and Mai and Keith survive.

Sorry the first chapter was so long, but don't worry: The first episode of The Apprentice is usually 90 minutes instead of the regular hour.

I'll warn you guys now that updates will be slow due to the combination of an account on Fictionpress, and my High school senior life. I hope you'll be patient with me though, and in turn, I'll try to the best of my ability to make this fic enjoyable.

Stay tuned to next week! (or, chapter)

Peace out!


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